[Samoila Stefan]

Finally I have managed to get my baby the NLG conversion! No more starting or ignition problems! The installation is mainly simple: In the trunk there's a toroidal NLG tank (38 liters capacity) with a filler cap drilled on the right fender. From there a gas line and some control wires from the tank's valve and fuel pump to the engine compartment. There it's installed an electrovalve after a relay, a gas reductor, heated by water lines from the climate system, and a mixer into the air-filter housing. Here's the schematic on the internet (I'll post pictures - when I'll have a camera available - of the actual installed system):

Here I've scanned the gas mixer installation manual for this system:

More photos will follow!

 

[milosz87]

werd :thumbsup:


what are the advantages of this?

 

[Samoila Stefan]

1. The gas is injected directly through the air inlet (no more injection problems, clogged injectors or fuel filter, fuel pump anomalies, cold start valve problems, fuel regulator defects, fuel distributor interrupted feed, in effect the system cuts off the fuel pump when running on NLgas so all these problems that belong to the fuel delivery system are avoided).
2. NLG price is half than petrol's (fuel consumption is though increased by maximum 15%).
3. Lower emissions at the tailpipe (comparative to euro 3 noxes).
4. Possibility to switch to petrol in case of out-of fuel cases (I have 4 leds indicating the NLG tank level in my in-dash switch). Start-up can be operated in 3 ways: forced petrol, petrol and then gas switching just after revving the engine over 2500rpm, forced NLG (I prefer this one...starts like a charm ).

 

[hamada128]

i wish we have the NLG system over here in the US

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Ontario Canada has it... I'm moving there this summer and on my future car (hopefully a merc too) I'll have one too...
Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) Ontario | Home

Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) Ontario | Home

Over there I can fill up my car at home too...

 

[rjb190e]

Sweet, I have to say I'd look at NGV (GPL) if I lived in Europe, nearly $5 a gallon for petrol vs NGV that costs less and is more efficient. Stefan, the only car I've ever seen in the US that ran on NGV is a Ford Taurus. HA!

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Well as I was there to equip my 190, I saw a VW Touareg and a Hyunday SUV (both cars like after 2005) for service checks and computer tuning on their NG systems (mostly all the indigenous old cars like my DD - B. knows - are converted on this type of fuel). Also I saw a Lincoln 3.8 Signature on LNG while redoing my distribution .

 

[Samoila Stefan]

FIY: starting the engine in NGV mode:
Cold.
Depress the accelerator pedal half-way (too much it will backfire and pull out the air hose under the throttle, too little it will overflow the engine so a 20 minutes beer brake is implied), turn the key, and off she goes. Simple as that.
Warm.
Turn the key (just a bit... ).

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Today we rode to Bucharest and back. At a fill-up after 182 kms (113,09 miles) I've measured the consumption: 12,69 litres/100kms (18,53 mpg). I mention that when running on gas it was 13 litres/100kms (18,09 mpg). Considering this at a price almost half of gas, I'm very happy (somehow equals a consumption of 98 octane gas of 6.5-7 litres/100kms - 36.18-33.60 mpg, not bad for a 2.0 granny)!

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Pictures

Well, as promised I'll post some pictures with the BRC Italy natural gas system on my 190E:

The gas switch (3 positions - 1. gas start, 2. gas start then nlg at 2krev, 3. nlg start). It also shows by 4 green leds the level in the NLG tank.

The gas expander (on the right inner fender, uses warm water from the cabin warming circuit)

The system's relay

The gas feeding hose to the air filter (enters the air filter from below) and the 2 blue cap cut-off valves near the expander.

The tank also have two safety valves on it (it's in the spare wheel compartment, toroidal shaped, 37 litres capacity of liquid pressurized gas, the feeding line is on the right rear fender, near the rear bumper, has a 2 dollar plastic screw-in cap which is unbolted by the nlg station personell or occasional thieves... on my DD it has been stolen 4 times and I did not bought one anymore, I hope this one will last)

 

[Samoila Stefan]

A somehow better picture of the fuel selection and gas tank level indicator switch (also on the right by the center console are the motion sensor and impact sensor for the alarm):

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Some pictures of the natural gas sprayer hidden into the air-filter housing (the part looks pretty much as a gas stove head, poining right into the venturi, ha!):

Here you can all se the feed and return lines from the NLG gas tank hidden into the spare compartment, the mounting big bolts for the tank, the electric-control wire for the shut-off valves at the tank.

So, afterall a 12% consumption on NLG is not bad considering the gas (98 octane regular unleaded) price over here (2.57 lei for an US dollar), and the NLG costs 1.5-1.75 lei per litre (0.545-0.681 usd incl. tax):

Here the gas at this station (OMV) is 3.37 lei per litre (1,225 usd per litre inc.l tax.)

 

[Dr.Grillz]

I have the LPG conversion on my car done unfortunately/unfortunately the way you look at it by the previous owner. Good side is I pay very little for fuel... bad side is, you can't do anything in terms of performance.

I don't agree with how they did your filler cap into the fender. A better way would have been in the bumper or just below the bumper. Also, its best to start and drive the gar on gas and wait until it warms up before it switching over to LPG. My car switches over with a small hidden switch automatically when it goes over 2000rpm's. Good thing is I can turn off the LPG and drive normally on gas.

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Mine operates exactly the same (the performance loss is not so noticeable for my baby) and btw the filler must be on the fender not in the bumper to avoid damage to the gas valves in case of accident (safety regulations, in the bumper it's illegal!!!).

 

[Dr.Grillz]

Mine operates exactly the same (the performance loss is not so noticeable for my baby) and btw the filler must be on the fender not in the bumper to avoid damage to the gas valves in case of accident (safety regulations, in the bumper it's illegal!!!).

I don't notice a large loss of power either, only when I'm driving over 160km/h... so I switch over to gasoline.

I would say 99% of all cars in Poland that have LPG have the filler mounted either on the bumper or with a custom mount thats located just under the bumper. Poland, just like your country, has inspections for LPG equipped cars and would not allow the filler to be on the bumper if it was deemed dangerous. Infact, the tank itself has a safety feature that would prevent any gas leak in an event of an accident. My tank is located in the spare wheel well.

 

[Samoila Stefan]

I guess Poland and Romania are different in vehicle safety regulations even if they're both in that EU utopia...

 

[Dr.Grillz]

I found an old picture of my 190... check out the bottom right side of the bumper. You can make out the filler cap.

BTW... I just did a 204 km trip, and used 17.18L of LPG. Not bad at all... and I was averaging about 80-140km/h through most of the ride.

 

[Samoila Stefan]

Well your consumption is better (my engine is a zombie with 2.0 and 2.3 limbs altogether...)

This is a better pic so people can see the filler...